1904 – Julien Dillens, Flemish sculptor (Anspach Monument), dies at 55
1935 – Alban Berg, Austrian composer (Wozzeck; Lulu), dies of sepsis at 50
1938 – Bruno Taut, German architect (b. 1880)
1976 – Victor Stanitsin, actor (War and Peace, Jubilee), dies at 79
1994 – Julie Haydon [Donella Donaldson], American actress (Scoundrel), dies at 84
1996 – Ted Leadbitter, British politician (Labour), dies at 77
2004 – Johnny Oates, American MLB baseball catcher, 1970-81 (Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, and 3 other teams), and manager, 1991-2001 (Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers), dies of brain cancer at 58
2008 – Samuel P. Huntington, American political scientist (The Clash of Civilizations) and presidential adviser, dies at 81
2020 – Geoff Stephens, English songwriter and record producer (“The Crying Game”; The New Vaudeville Band – “Winchester Cathedral”, “There’s a Kind of Hush”), dies of complications from COVID-19 at 86
2021 – J.D. Crowe, American bluegrass banjo player and bandleader (The New South), dies at 84
Author: gil7
Historical Events for 24th December 2025
1924 – School in Babb’s Switch, Oklahoma, catches fire, 36 die
1963 – Greeks and Turks riot in Cyprus
1973 – Ferryboat capsized off coast of Equador, drowning 200
1974 – The Sporting News bestows St Louis Cardinals outfielder Lou Brock their MLB Player of the Year Award
1977 – “Ghost to the Post”, Raiders tight end Dave Casper (“The Ghost”) catches a 42-yard reception to set up the Raiders’ tying field goal near the end of regulation (Raiders win in OT)
1984 – Palace coup in Mauritania
1989 – Charles Taylor starts the First Liberian Civil War when he enters the country at the head of the guerrilla group National Patriotic Front of Liberia to overthrow President Samuel Doe
1991 – Ballon d’Or: Marseille forward Jean-Pierre Papin is named Europe’s best football player; first from the French League to win the trophy
Today in History for 24th December 2025
Historical Events
1798 – Russia and Britain sign Second anti-French Coalition
1932 – Arturo Alessandri wins presidential election in Chile
1941 – First ships of Admiral Chuichi Nagumo’s Pearl Harbor fleet return to Japan
1950 – National Football League Championship, Cleveland Stadium: Cleveland Browns beat LA Rams, 30-28; Cleveland has 5 interceptions, Rams 1
1990 – Expos trade Tim Raines to the White Sox for Iván Calderón and Barry Jones
Famous Birthdays
1791 – Eugène Scribe, French dramatist (Bertrand et Raton), born in Paris, France (d. 1861)
1809 – (Christopher) “Kit” Carson, American frontiersman, Indian fighter and army officer, born in Madison County, Kentucky (d. 1868)
1955 – Anwar Khan, Pakistani cricketer (bowled four overs for Pakistan 1979), born in Karachi, Pakistan
1980 – Tomas Kalnoky, American musician (Streetlight Manifesto), born in Prague, Czechoslovakia
1984 – Jehnny Beth [Camille Berthomier], French musician, singer-songwriter (John and Jehn; Savages; To Love Is to Live), born in Poitiers, France
Famous Deaths
1959 – Edmund Goulding, British screenwriter and film director (Grand Hotel, Dark Victory, Nightmare Alley), dies during heart surgery at 68
1963 – Raphaël Verwilghen, Belgian architect, and urban planner, dies at 78
1975 – Tilly Losch, Austrian dancer and actress (Duel in the Sun; Garden of Allah), dies at about 71 (birth date disputed)
2002 – Laci Peterson, American murder victim, dies at 27
2024 – Richard Perry, American record producer (Harry Nilsson; Ringo Starr; Carly Simon; Leo Sayer; The Pointer Sisters), dies of cardiac arrest at 82
Famous Deaths for 23rd December 2025
1722 – Pierre Varignon, French mathematician (b. 1654)
1939 – Anthony Fokker, Dutch aviation pioneer and aircraft manufacturer (Eindecker monoplanes, Fokker Triplane), dies of pneumococcal meningitis at 49
1944 – Charles Dana Gibson, American illustrator (Gibson Girl), dies at 77
1945 – Mogens Klitgaard, Danish author (Brunkul), dies at 39
1948 – Seishirō Itagaki, Japanese military officer and politician (War Minister, 1938-39), hanged for war crimes at 63
1951 – Alfrēds Kalniņš, Latvian organist, composer (Baņuta), conductor, and pedagogue, dies at 72
1994 – Charles Shirley, American big band jazz arranger (Stan Kenton; Les Elgart), and alcoholism counselor, dies of a heart attack at 74
2000 – Victor Borge [Borge Rosenbaum], Danish-American comedian and pianist, dies at 91
2013 – Mikhail Kalashnikov, Russian general and inventor of the AK-47, dies at 94
2019 – Alan Harrington, Welsh soccer defender (11 caps; Cardiff City 348 games), dies at 86
Historical Events for 23rd December 2025
1815 – “Emma” novel by Jane Austen is published by John Murray in London
1941 – Japan begins assault on Rangoon, Burma
1962 – AFL Championship, Jeppesen Stadium, Houston: Dallas Texans beat Houston Oilers, 20-17; Tommy Brooker lands winning 25-yard field goal in overtime
1966 – Britain’s rock TV show “Ready Steady Go” last program
1970 – USSR performs nuclear test
1990 – Comedy “Lettice and Lovage” closes at Barrymore Theater, NYC after 284 performances
1997 – Chicago Bulls coach Phil Jackson is quickest to reach 500 wins (682 games)
2016 – United Nations Security Council adopts a landmark resolution demanding a halt to all Israeli settlement in Palestinian territory occupied since 1967. Resolution 2334 was moved by New Zealand, Malaysia, Senegal and Venezuela and passed 14-0 with a US abstention.
Today in History for 23rd December 2025
Historical Events
1751 – France sets plan to tax clergymen
1912 – First “Keystone Kops” silent slapstick comedy film, entitled “Hoffmeyer’s Legacy” is released
1913 – President Woodrow Wilson signs the Federal Reserve Act, establishing the modern central banking system of the United States to manage the money supply and promote financial stability
1942 – Allies air attack on Den Helder, Netherlands
1951 – National Football League Championship, LA Memorial Coliseum: Los Angeles Rams beat Cleveland Browns 24-17; first coast-to-coast televised NFL title game
Famous Birthdays
1819 – Jan Jakob Lodewijk ten Kate, Dutch poet and clergyman, born at The Hague, Netherlands (d. 1889)
1922 – Micheline Ostermeyer, French athlete (Olympic gold shot put, discus; bronze high jump 1948), born in Rang-du-Fliers, Pas-de-Calais, France (d. 2001)
1945 – Ron Bushy, American rock drummer (Iron Butterfly – “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida”), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2021)
1954 – Brian Teacher, American tennis player (Australian Open 1980), born in San Diego, California
1981 – Beth [Elisabeth Rodergas Cols], Spanish singer and actress, born in Súria, Catalonia
Famous Deaths
1575 – Akiyama Nobutomo, Japanese warrior (hanged) (b. 1531)
1948 – Hideki Tojo, Japanese Prime Minister during WW II (1941-44), hanged for war crimes at 63
1970 – Bessie Abramowitz Hillman, Russian-American labor leader and founder of Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, dies at 71
2018 – (Ann) “Honey” Lantree, British rock drummer (The Honeycombs), dies at 75
2020 – James E. Gunn, American sci-fi author (The Listeners, Station in Space, Immortal), dies at 97
Famous Deaths for 22nd December 2025
1893 – Johann Czerski, German chaplain, dies at 80
1902 – Richard von Krafft-Ebing, Austro–German psychiatrist and author (Psychopathia Sexualis), dies at 62
1961 – Elia Dalla Costa, Italian cardinal who helped organize a rescue network for Jewish people during the Holocaust, dies at 89
1965 – Al Ritz [Albert Joachim], American vaudevillian (The Ritz Brothers), dancer and actor (The Gorilla;, Hi’ya, Chum; Straight, Place and Show), dies of a heart attack at 64
1971 – Godfried Bomans, Dutch humorist, TV personality and writer (Eric), dies at 58
1997 – Johnny Coles, American jazz trumpeter (Little Johnny C), dies at 71
2006 – Elena Mukhina, Russian gymnast (3 x World C’ship gold 1978; 2 x World Cup gold 1977), dies of complications from quadriplegia at 46
2011 – James Ramseur, one of Bernhard Goetz’s assailants in 1984, overdoses on drugs at 45
2012 – Arkady Vorobyov, Russian weightlifter (Olympic gold Middle-heavyweight 1956, 60), dies at 88
2022 – Anton Tkáč, Slovak track cyclist (Olympic gold Czechoslovakia men’s match sprint 1976; World C’ship gold 1974, 78), dies at 71
Historical Events for 22nd December 2025
1890 – Cornwallis Valley Railway begins operation between Kingsport and Kentville, Nova Scotia.
1894 – Claude Debussy’s first orchestral masterpiece “Prélude à l’apres-midi d’un faune” premieres in Paris
1930 – Convention of Economic Rapprochement/Oslo Agreesments signed between some European countries in response to the Great Depression
1940 – World War II: Himarë is captured by the Greek army.
1942 – World War II: Adolf Hitler signs the order to develop the V-2 rocket as a weapon
2017 – UN Security Council votes 15 to 0 for additional sanctions on North Korea, including measures to slash the country’s petrol imports by up to 90%
2018 – Partial shutdown of US federal government begins
2022 – US Drug Enforcement Administration says it seized enough fentanyl in 2022 to kill every American, more than 379 million doses
Today in History for 22nd December 2025
Historical Events
1894 – Claude Debussy’s first orchestral masterpiece “Prélude à l’apres-midi d’un faune” premieres in Paris
1964 – Ballon d’Or: Manchester United striker Denis Law wins award for best European football player; beats Inter midfielder Luis Suárez and Real Madrid winger Amancio Amaro; first Scotsman to win the award
1978 – Thailand adopts constitution
1997 – Attendees at a prayer meeting of Roman Catholic activists for indigenous causes in the small village of Acteal in the Mexican state of Chiapas are massacred by paramilitary forces
2003 – A magnitude 6.6 earthquake hits near San Simeon, California.
Famous Birthdays
1883 – Edgard Varèse, French-American composer (Ionisation; Poème électronique), born in Burgundy, France (d. 1965)
1889 – Minor Watson, American actor (Woman of the Year, Viva Cisco Kid), born in Marianna, Arkansas (d. 1965)
1912 – Claudia A. “Lady Bird” Taylor Johnson, American first lady (1963-1969), born in Karnack, Texas (d. 2007)
1946 – Mary McCaslin, American contemporary folk singer-songwriter, guitarist, and banjo player (“Prairie In The Sky”), born in Indianapolis, Indiana (d. 2022)
1954 – Jayaseelan Naidoo, South African worker’s union leader, born in Durban, South Africa
Famous Deaths
1603 – Mehmed III, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (1595-1603), dies at 37
1767 – John Newberry, English publisher, dies
1809 – William Cooper, American judge and developer (founded Cooperstown, New York), dies at 55
1987 – Alice Terry [Taaffe], actress (4 Horsemen of Apocalypse), dies
2016 – Bill Price, British audio engineer (Tom Jones; Wings: Sparks; Elton John), and record producer (The Clash; Sex Pistols; Waterboys), dies of cancer at 72
Famous Deaths for 21st December 2025
1927 – Jack Saunders, cricketer (79 wickets-14 Tests for Aust 1902-08), dies
1950 – Hattie Wyatt Caraway, American politician (1st woman elected to US Senate, Senator for Arkansas 1931-45), dies at 72
1967 – Louis Washkansky, 18 days after 1st heart transplant, dies at 55
1969 – Georges Catroux, French Army general, French Ambassador to the Soviet Union (1945-48) and Grand Chancellor of the Légion d’honneur (1954-69), dies at 92
1983 – Paul de Man, Belgian literary critic, dies at 64
1992 – Albert King [Nelson], American blues guitarist and singer (BB King and Friends; Blues Alive), dies of a heart attack at 69
1996 – Margaret E Rey, author of children’s books, dies at 90
2001 – Dick Schaap, American Emmy Award-winning sportscaster, journalist, and author (Bo Knows Bo: Instant Replay), dies from complications during hip replacement surgery at 67
2005 – Elrod Hendricks, American baseball player and coach (b. 1940)
2023 – Robert Solow, American economist who developed the Solow–Swan model of economic growth (Nobel Prize, 1987), dies at 99